FUEL CONSUMPTION MONITOR V1.2a (S3A Only)
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Following the success of my Home Accounts  program S3ABANK,  a
number of people have  suggested that I issue some of the optional modules
as standalone programs.  This is the second of these modules (the others are
the Investment Tracker, INVEST.ZIP, the Financial Planner, PLAN.ZIP and
the Home Inventory, HOUSE.ZIP).  This program allows you to keep track
of the fuel consumption of up to 10 vehicles.

To Install the program, simply put FUEL2.APP into any /APP/ directory and
install as usual, using <PSION-I>.

Now go into the program, filling in the configuration details. The vehicle
name might be the type, and the number the registration of  plate' details,
but this is up to you.  Note that the  Name' cannot be altered later, but the
 number' is configurable.  The 'nag' screens can be removed by registering
the program, which will also allow you the full ten vehicles and more than
five entries.  The unregistered version allows you just one vehicle, and 
five entries, to see the capabilities of the program. 

Working through the MENU commands will show you the capabilities of the
program.  The Vehicle menu allows you to add and subtract vehicles, and
switch the screen display between vehicles (provided you have registered). 
The Edit menu allows you Enter, Update and Delete entries, although I only
allow the last line to be deleted, as deleting any other line would ruin the
Average consumption calculation (This is calculated over the previous 12
entries).  Also on this menu is an 'Edit Menu' feature, similar to that used in
the Agenda, so that you can also keep track of servicing details, insurance
numbers etc. The 'Config' menu allows you to edit the number of the vehicle,
to specify the date format, how many decimal places you want each column
to display, whether you wish to display litres or gallons, and miles or
kilometres, what you want as the fuel consumption units, and switch
between font sizes.  Under the special menu there is an option to delete the
history display which will be explained later, or the print routine to keep a
hard copy of the details, the registration option and the exit option.  The
diamond menu accesses the History display and, finally, there is a 'Help'
screen which simply repeats some of the information in this file.

To demonstrate the program, assume you have just filled the fuel tank (to
make the fuel consumption logical, you must always start from the same
baseline, and a full tank is probably the best).  Enter the details using
<PSION-E> or <Enter>.  Input the cost (amount paid), and then the value
field depending on your selection of method, ie number of gallons (litres) or
the price/gallon (litre).  The mileage is the TOTAL mileage, taken directly
from the mileometer, NOT the elapsed mileage.  The Remarks field is a free
field which you can use for anything.  The first entry will display, although
obviously no fuel consumption will be shown.  When the second entry is
inputed, the fuel consumption will be calculated.  At this stage, the 'Spot' and
'Average' figures will be exactly the same, as there is only one entry to work
on.  Later entries will allow the 'Average' to be calculated.  You can now
Update <PSION-U> or <TAB> an entry, or delete the last line <PSION-D>
or <DEL>.  Add another line with some different values and you should see
that the  Spot' and  Average' values are now calculated.

Now select <PSION-V> or press the Diamond key to see the History display. 
This will show the  Spot' consumption both in text and graphically.  The
main program holds only the full details of the last 15 entries, but the history
file, which just records the consumption figure, can go on for ever.  Again,
use the MENU key to see the facilities available.  You will see that you can
manipulate the history file itself in various ways, configure the scales of the
graph, and switch between vehicles (the right/left arrow keys also do this). 
As usual, CTRL-MENU will switch the Status screen on and off.

Once you register the program and enter the code, you can Add vehicles
<PSION-N> and if required, subsequently delete them <PSION-->, and have
more than 5 entries.

If you find the program useful and wish to register it, please see the file
REGISTER.TXT for up-to-date instructions on how to register.  Apart from
giving you a 'warm' feeling, allowing  you  10 vehicles, and getting rid of the
'nag' screens, registering will give you access to full support and notification
of  regular, free, updates.   If anyone has any useful suggestions for
improvements, I will always try and include them in the next version.

If you want to contact me, use the addresses in REGISTER.TXT, or I am
available on Compuserve  100023,543 or E-Mail on alanrichey@aol.com

Al Richey